Pattern device for knitting machines

ABSTRACT

A pattern device for controlling a circular knitting machine comprises a frame, a set of selector elements mounted in the frame and adapted to locate knitting elements in the machine to knit a desired pattern at a feeder, means operable to lock the selector elements in the frame and to release them for movement in the frame between effective and non-effective positions, and a pattern member insertable in the frame, a surface on each selector element being adapted for cooperation with the pattern member, and the pattern member having parts for engagement with said surfaces, said parts serving to position said selector elements so that they will locate the knitting elements to produce a desired pattern.

United States Patent 1191 Carrotte et al.

[ Feb.5,l974

[ PATTERN DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES [75] Inventors: Frederick Henry Carrotte,

Leicester; John Ernest Ellis, Queniborough, both of England [73] Assignee: A. Kirkland & Company Limited,

Syston, Leicester, England [22] Filed: Apr. 5, 1971 [21] Appl. No; 131,373

[52] U.S. Cl. 66/50 R, 66/50 B, 66/8 [51] Int. Cl D04b 15/68 [58] Field of Search 66/50 R, 50 B, 25, 36 A, 36 B, 66/50 A,'156; 74/568 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,740,971 6/1973 Font..... 66/50 B 2,473,944 6/1949 Fregeolle 66/50 H x 2,900,837 8/1959 BrandL, 66/156 x 703,028 6/1902 Wildman 66/156 x 3,077,756 2/1963 Widdowson et al.. 66/50 A 2,051,724 8/1936 Larkin 66/25 3,641,787 2/1972 Robottom 66/50 R 3,638,456 2/1972 Guell 66/50 R 2,756,575 7/1956 Haddad 66/50 B X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 2,047,458 3/1971 France 66/50 R Primary Examiner-Wm. Carter Reynolds Attorney, Agent, or FirmDavis, I-Ioxie, Faithful & Hapgood [57] ABSTRACT A pattern device for controlling a circular knitting machine comprises a frame, a set of selector elements mounted in the frame and adapted to locate knitting elements in the machine to knit a desired pattern at a feeder, means operable to lock the selector elements in the frame and to release them for movement in the frame between effective and non-effective positions,

and a pattern member insertable in the frame, a surface on each selector element being adapted for cooperation with the pattern member, and the pattern member having parts for engagement with said surfaces, said parts serving to position said selector elements so that they will locate the knitting elements to produce a desired pattern.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED 51974 3, 789 629 sum 2 or 3 IN VENTORS I f/ /z/gmvl ATTORNEY PATENTED FEB 51974 SHEET 3 BF 3 IN VE N TOP 5 ATTORNEYS I PATTERN DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES This invention relates to a pattern device for a circular knitting machine.

In some circular knitting machines, needles which are to knit at a particular feeder are raised by jacks so that the needle butts are located for engagement by knitting cams. Needles which are to tuck are raised by the jacks so as to be located for engagement by tuck cams. The jacks are raised by cams operating on knitting" butts on the jacks and the jacks are positioned so that their butts engage, or do not engage, in the cam tracks by selector elements which are arranged to cooperated with other, patterning, butts on the jacks. For example, each jack may be shaped so that it can pivot about a point on one of its edges in contact with the floor of the trick in which the jack is located. If a selector element is arranged to contact a patterning butt on a jack and push the butt into the trick so that the jack pivots about its pivoting point, a knitting butt adjacent the patterning butt on the jack will also be pushed into the trick and will therefore not project for engagement in a cam track. The knitting pattern is thus determined by the pattern of selector elements arranged to contact patterning butts on the jacks.

The selector elements may be constituted by pattern bits which project from discs, a series of discs mounted one on top of another constituting a pattern wheel. The pattern wheels are rotated in synchronism with the rotation of the needle cylinder. The bits projecting from the pattern wheels cooperate with corresponding patterning butts on the jacks and push them into the tricks with the consequences described above. In order to change the pattern knitted by such a machine, a new assembly of discs having a different array of bits must be prepared.

The present invention is concerned with a pattern device for a circular knitting machine in which the selector elements can be easily adjusted to a new configuration, thereby facilitating the operation of changing the pattern knitted by the machine.

A pattern device according to the invention comprises a set of selector elements for locating knitting elements in the machine to knit a desired pattern at a feeder, means operable to lock the selector elements or release them for movement in the device between effective and non-effective positions, each selector element having a surface for cooperation with a pattern member, and the device being adapted to receive a pattern member having parts arranged for engagement with the said surfaces of selector elements to position the selector elements in such a manner that they locate the knitting elements so as to produce a desired pattern.

Each selector element may comprise a series of blades, the blades being mounted in a series one on top of another for sliding movement in a frame of the device. The pattern member may then comprise a rod having butts projecting from it, each butt constituting one of the said parts of the pattern member, and each blade having an aperture having its periphery shaped for cooperation with a butt of the pattern member, the said surface of each selector element being constituted by a portion of the periphery of its aperture. In this case the pattern member may be in the form of a key, the key being insertable in the frame so that it can be turned to cause its butts to engage the said portions of 2 the peripheries of the apertures of the selector elements to position the selector elements as required.

The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a vertical section through a pattern device according to the invention shown in position on a circular knitting machine (only part of which is shown),

FIG. 2 is an elevation showing two pattern devices according to FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a plan corresponding to FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a view, on an enlarged scale, of part of the pattern device of FIG. 1 showing cooperating with a knitting machine jack and shown in association with a pattern member in the form of a key, and

FIG. 5 is a plan showing two positions of a selector element in the device of FIG. 1 shown on a larger scale than FIG. 4.

The rotating cylinder circular knitting machine, part of which is shown in FIG. 1, comprises a top plate 10 supporting a headwheel II on ball bearings 12. A needle cylinder 13 is carried on the headwheel 11 by a spacer 14. The outer periphery of the cylinder 13 is formed with tricks in which jacks and needles are located. A wall 15 of one of the tricks is visible in FIG.

At each feeder of the machine is located a pattern device 16 having selector blades 17 which can be positioned to act on patterning butts 18 on jacks 19 (FIG. 4) as the needle cylinder 13 is rotated. Each jack shown is shaped to pivot on the floor 23 of the trick in which it is located about a point on the rear edge 22 of the jack on a part of the latter which is not shown in FIG. 4. If the patterning butt 18 on the lower (visible) part of the jack is acted on by one of the selector blades, the lower part of the jack is pushed into the trick so that the part of the edge 22 below the pivot point is caused to lie flat on the floor 23 of the trick. In this position of the jack, as shown in FIG. 4, the knitting butt 20 will be retracted into the trick. If the jack is rotated in an anti-clockwise direction in FIG. 4, the part of the edge 22 above the pivot point (not shown) will lie flat on the floor 23 of the trick and the knitting butt 20 and will then project from the trick.

The other jacks 19 have patterning butts 18 at different levels for cooperation with other selector blades 17.

If the knitting butt 20 on the jack 19 is projecting from its trick, on rotation of the needle cylinder beyond the pattern device 16 shown in FIG. 1, the butt 20 will engage in a cam which raises the jack and thus the needle above it and thereby presents the needle butt for engagement in a knitting or tucking cam. The present machine has means associated with each feeder for returning each jack to the attitude in which the patterning butts 18 project from the trick and are thus presented for cooperation with the selector blades 17.

A selector blade 17 is shown in FIG. 5. The operative edge 21 of each blade is chamfered so that when the blade meets a butt l8 brought to it by rotation of the needle cylinder 13, the blade, if in the forward position shown in full lines in F IG. 5, will push the butt 18 progressively back into the trick. An aperture 24 is formed in the rear part of each blade 17 and is aranged to receive a pattern element. Aperture 24 has size and shape such that when a plurality of blades 17 are mounted one on top of another in a frame 28 as described in detail below, a portion of the aperture of each blade is aligned with a portion of the aperture of every other blade in that frame irrespective of the positions of the blades. A pattern element, also described in detail below, is removably insertable in the aligned portions of the apertures of the selector blades. Two slots and 26 are formed in one edge of each blade to receive means constituted by a latch 38 for locking the blade in the forward or rearward positions. A wider slot 27 is formed in the opposite edge of each blade 17 to receive a stop member 41 limiting the sliding movement of the blade in the pattern device when the latch 38 is removed.

In the present pattern device, twenty selector blades are mounted one on top of another in a frame 28 (FIG. 1) which is secured to the top plate 10 of the knitting machine by a dowel 29. The frame 28 of the device projects towards the needle cylinder 13 and a part 30 of the frame is located under the needle cylinder and is formed with a trough 31 which serves to catch and retain broken needle or jack butts. The frame 28 has side members 33 and a top 34 and constitutes a housing with a rectangular aperture 35 in which the selector blades 17 are closely confined for sliding movement towards and away from the needle cylinder 13.

The blades 17 can be clamped in the frame by means ofa screw 36 acting on a block 37 on top of the blades. The latch 38 is pivoted at the point 39 on the frame 28 and is engageable in either the slot 25 or the slot 26 in each blade to lock the blade in a forward position shown in full lines in FIG. 5 or in the retracted position shown in broken lines in FIG. 5. The latch is visible in each of the two devices shown in FIG. 2. These devices are seen from slightly different angles in FIG. 2 since they are located around the needle cylinder of a circular knitting machine.

The stop member 41 is located on the opposite side of the pattern device from the latch 38 and engages in the slot 27 in each selector blade 17. The stop serves to limit the sliding movement of the blades so that they cannot be removed from the device when the latch 38 is freed unless the stop member 41 is also removed.

The latch 38 has a tapered edge which facilitates its entry into the slots 25 and 26. The main part of the latch is a precision fit in the slots 25 and 26 and thus locates each blade accurately in one of two positions in the pattern device.

The top 34 of the frame 38 is formed with an aperture 43 (FIG. 3) which is shaped to receive a pattern member constituted by a key 44 (FIG. 4). The key 44 has a head 45 and a cylindrical barrel or longitudinal main member 46 carrying twenty butts 47 which extend in diametrically opposite directions from the barrel. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, for example, butts 47 selectively project from opposite sides of main member 46 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of main member 46. The key is inserted in or removed from the pattern device with the butts substantially perpendicular to the direction of motion of blades 17. Each butt 47 is arranged to cooperate with one selector blade to push it to a desired position. In particular, each butt 47 cooperates respectively with an interior surface of aperture 24 of each of selector blades 17 when the key is fully inserted in the pattern device. Each butt 47 is located at one side or other of the key depending upon the direction in which the blade with which the projection is to cooperate is to be pushed to set the machine for knitting a desired pattern. The keys are initially formed with 20 butts on each side of the barrel and projections are then broken off to produce a key carrying an array of butts corresponding to a desired pattern.

When the key is inserted in the pattern device, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower end of the barrel 46 is received in an aperture 48 in the base of the frame 28. In order to set the selector blades in the correct positions to carry out the knitting of a desired pattern, a key with the appropriate butts 47 broken off is inserted in the device, the clamping screw 36 is released and the latch 38 is pivoted outwardly as shown in FIG. 2. The key is then turned in the clockwise direction viewed from above and will act on those selector blades which are incorrectly positioned as follows. Where a blade 17 is retracted as shown in broken lines in FIG. 5, and is to be pushed forward towards the cylinder 13, a butt 47, located adjacent the surface of the edge 49 of the crossshaped aperture 24 in the blade 17, pushes the blade forward as the key rotates by engagement with the edge 49. If a blade 17 which in the forward position, as shown in full lines in FIG. 5,- is required to be retracted, a butt 47 located adjacent the surface of the edge 50 of the cross-shaped aperture will engage the edge 50 and push back the blade on clockwise rotation of the key. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, for example, edges 49 and 50 are segments of the interior surface of aperture 24. Edges 49 and 50 are perpendicular to the direction of motion of selector blade 17 and are diagonally opposite one another at opposite ends of aperture 24.

After the blades have been relocated where necessary by turning the key 44, the latch 38 is returned to its locking position and the screw 36 is screwed down to clamp the blades.

A key carrying a different pattern of butts will be required for setting the pattern device at each feeder of the machine if the pattern of operation of the needles is to be different at each feeder. The keys can be numbered to correspond with the pattern devices and a set of numbered keys can be used to set up any machine having pattern devices of the present kind. A different set of keys will be required for each different pattern.

A pattern device according to the invention can be arranged to cooperate with knitting elements other than jacks and may, for example in some machines, be arranged to act directly on the needles.

What is claimed is:

1. A pattern device for controlling a circular knitting machine, said device comprising a frame, a set of selector blades mounted one on top of another in said frame and adapted for sliding movement between effective and non-effective positions to locate knitting elements in the machine to knit a desired pattern at a feeder, an interior portion of each of said blades being removed to define an aperture having size and shape such that a portion of said aperture is aligned with a 'portion of the aperture of every other blade irrespective of the position of said blade, a pattern member removably insertable in the aligned portions of the apertures of said selector blades, said pattern 'member including a longitudinal main member and a plurality of butts selectively projecting from said main member, each of said butts being respectively located for cooperation with an interior surface of the aperture of each of said selector blades when said pattern member is fully inserted in the device to position said selector blades when said main member is rotated about its longitudinal axis, and means for locking said selector blades in the positions established by said pattern member so that said pattern member can be removed from the device.

2. A pattern device as claimed in claim 1, in which said butts selectively project from opposite sides of said main member perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said main member and wherein the pattern member is inserted in or removed from the device with said butts substantially perpendicular to the direction of motion of said selector blades.

3. A pattern device as claimed in claim 2, in which end of said aperture. 

1. A pattern device for controlling a circular knitting machine, said device comprising a frame, a set of selector blades mounted one on top of another in said frame and adapted for sliding movement between effective and non-effective positions to locate knitting elements in the machine to knit a desired pattern at a feeder, an interior portion of each of said blades being removed to define an aperture having size and shape such that a portion of said aperture is aligned with a portion of the aperture of every other blade irrespective of the position of said blade, a pattern member removably insertable in the aligned portions of the apertures of said selector blades, said pattern member including a longitudinal main member and a plurality of butts selectively projecting from said main member, each of said butts being respectively located for cooperation with an interior surface of the aperture of each of said selector blades when said pattern member is fully inserted in the device to position said selector blades when said main member is rotated about its longitudinal axis, and means for locking said selector blades in the positions established by said pattern member so that said pattern member can be removed from the device.
 2. A pattern device as claimed in claim 1, in which said butts selectively project from opposite sides of said main member perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said main member and wherein the pattern member is inserted in or removed from the device with said butts substantially perpendicular to the direction of moTion of said selector blades.
 3. A pattern device as claimed in claim 2, in which the interior surface of the aperture in each of said selector blades includes at least one interior surface segment substantially perpendicular to the direction of motion of said selector blade at each end of said aperture for selective cooperation with one of the butts of said pattern member.
 4. A pattern device as claimed in claim 3, in which at least one of said interior surface segments at one end of said aperture in each of said blades is diagonally opposite one of said interior surface segments at the other end of said aperture. 